Apparatus for applying dust covers or jackets to books



J. A. E. BURLS Oct. 9, 1951 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING DUST COVERS OR JACKETS TO BOOKS Filed Feb. 27, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVE'IIVTOR yaw diam BY /4R1 ATTORNEY- Oct. 9, 1951 J. A. E. BuRLs 2,570,916

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING DUST COVERS OR JACKETS TO BOOKS Filed Feb. 27, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.3.

Fl-G.5.

FIG-7 INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 9, 1 951 2,570,916 APPARATUS FOR-APPLYING nus'r COVERS on JACKETS T BOOKS John Albert Edward Burls', Kenton, England, as-

signor to It. Hoe & Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a

corporation of New York 7 Application February 27, 1948, Serial No. 11,805 In Great Britain February 4, 1947 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires February 4, 1967 7 Claims.

provided an apparatus comprising a magazine to contain jackets which are laid out in more or less flat form, guide means to conduct books in succession past the magazine with a movement parallel with their spine, means operating in that movement to open out the back and front covers of the book and mechanism to cause the edges of the jackets to be Wrapped about the edges of the opened out covers of the book which is thus caused in its continued movement to take away the top jacket from the magazine.

The now wrapped book is advanced to a delivery at which the covers of the book are closed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1 and la are perspective views of a machine and Figures 2-7 are diagrammatic perspective views showing th different stages through which the machine shown in Figure 1 takes a book.

Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises a feed hopper I having side walls 2, 3 and a base 4 on which one wall 3 is adjustable to accommodate books of different sizes. As is seen, the books are fed on their spines S to the hopper in a series one after another up to an end wall 5 of the hopper, the book adjacent that wall being disposed in register at its spine with a feed pusher 6 which is moved backwards and forwards. During its forward movement the pusher 6 engages and displaces the end book from the hopper to the left as seen in Figure 1.

Having been displaced from the hopper I, the books are taken in succession to guide plates 1, 8 arranged parallel with one another in approximately vertical planes and disposed over and supported clear of a table 9 along which the spines S of books are caused to advance. The guide plate 8 is provided with a, finger III which engages the inside of one'cover of the book to cause it to be opened out to lie more or less flat upon the table 9 and below the guide plates, the filling of the book remaining held in the vertical position between the guide plates 1, 8; this is the condition which is indicated in Figure 2, the one cover A having been opened.

The guide plate I is cut away at I I and is provided with a finger ID to engage and open the other cover of the book, the opening being permitted by the gap created by the cut away part II through which the cover passes to lie flat on the table 9; the parts are now in the position shown in Figure 3 where the second opened out cover is indicated at B. It is preferred to arrange the guide plates to tilt the filling D' of the book first away from one cover while that cover is being opened and then away from the other cover while that in its turn is being opened; this ensures. a degree of over-opening to overcome the stiffness at the fold lines of the covers and so facilitates the laying open of the covers flat on the table. For this purpose the hopper l is disposed at an angle such that the book is canted over to the end wall 5, i. e. in a direction away from the first cover A which is to be opened; the guide plate 1 is set-off at 1, towards a set-off part 8 of the guide plate 8 where it is registered with the gap ll so that when the cover B is opened the filling is canted in a direction away from that cover.

The table 9 is provided with an openin .12 aligning with a depending magazine to contain jackets C in the flat condition, the jackets being superposed one above another on a rising'feed board I3; the guide plates 1, 8 extend over and beyond this opening so that the books now with their covers A, B opened out and being impelled to move between the guide plates, are constrained to pass over the opening and there to pick-up a jacket C.

The jackets are laid with their'edge portions turned over as indicated at E especially in Figure 4. Mechanism, such as for example an air jet or jets M can be employed to open these edge portions E to enable the edges of the opened out book-covers to pass easily into position in the jacket as they are continuously advanced, the parts now being in the position indicated in Figure 5. Further jets l5 can be provided to compel the opened out parts E of the jacket to be folded back over the covers of the book whenit is registered with the jacket.

The feeding of the books between the guides l, 8, is effected by a propelling mechanism which includes feed bars 22 which are carried by the outer ends of arms 23 supported by continuously moving endless chains 24 passing around chain wheels 25; the bars are spaced apart a distance equal to at least the longest book which the machine is intended to handle. The'chains 24 are disposed over the guides I, 8 with the arms 23 spaced apart to straddle a support from which the guide plates I, 8 are suspended to be clear the book displaced from the hopper by the pusher 6 and then carry that book forward through the guides I, 8 for the operations described.

The feed bars are disposed somewhat above the level of the table 9 so as to engage the one edgeof the filler above the spine of the book. The bars also each have towards their extremities blocks 26 each having a forwardly extending lip 21 on to which the covers of the book fall when they are opened by the fingers i and I0";

Provision is mad-e to ensure that each oncomsing book picks; up the top jacket only. For this purpose a metal plate 26 .thatmay be called a slip-tongue is recessed into the table 9, so the upper surfaces of the tongue and the table are flush, and one end of the tongue projects partly over the jackets C in the magazine to hold them down. The tongue i6 thus forms an extended runway for the spine of the book, and guides its leading edge over the top jacket as the book moves along. To prevent the top jacket from being displaced by the frictional drag of the book upon it as the book passes into the jacket, a spring- 'st'op finger I1 is provided, against which the air jets tend to hold the jacket while pressing it down against the pile and until the book passes into the jacket. When the jacket and book reach the spring stop finger, the latter is pressed downward by the weight then upon it, and the book cover and its jacket being then engaged by the lips 21 they move away together from the magazine.

It is preferred to open the filling of the book and to lay the two halves of the filling respectively on to the front and rear covers Bwith their applied jackets C, hence a partition device 19 is employed which operates as the book is ad- 'vanced on edge clear of the guides l, 8 to find the centre of the bookancl to :cause the filling to open out about that centre'to thecondition shown in Figure 7 The book now passes in the open condition with the jacket applied to it and with the marginal parts E of the jacket trapped between the covers and the open pages of the book. The jacketed book next passes to a delivery which may comprise merely an opening in the table 9 and over which the jacketed book is caused to move until when complete registration is ob- 'tained, the book falls through the opening on to a delivery chute 2 I the opening is of such dimensions as automatically to cause the book to close up to the condition shown in Figure 6'when it passes through it to the chute.

Books to be jacketed can be supplied ''to the hopper i by hand or it can bearranged to receive books continuously from a book-binding assembly.

It may be observed that the pusher 6 having ato and fro movementcauses the books to be displaced intermittently from the magazine whereafter they are fed continuously forward by the feedbars 22.

What I claim is:

1. For applying jackets to books, apparatus comprising in combination a magazine to contain twice folded jackets in a more or less fiat 4 superposed condition, guides to direct books over the magazine and to hold them more or less vertical'ly for movement on their spines, a pusher to advance books in succession along the guides, cover engaging devices positioned to open the back and front covers of the books as they pass toward the -magazine, means to direct air toward the top jacket in the magazine, that the covers of each book will enter the folds of a jacket as the books reach the magazine, and an opening arranged to receive books from the guides, the said opening being of such dimensions that the books are :closedas-they pass through it.

'2'. For applying jackets to books, apparatus comprising amagazine to hold jackets with folded over ends in a more or less flat superposed condition, a platform, a book feeder at which books are stacked vertically on their spines, a

delivery device, guidesextending from the book feeder past the magazine toth'e'del ivery, the said guides being disposed above the platform, a pusher to advance books from the feeder to and past the guides, cover engaging devices positioned to open the front and rear covers of the books as they pass under-control of the guides to themagazine, means to so direct air toward the top jacket in the magazine that the covers of each book will enter the folds-of'the jackets as the books reach the magazine, and achutearranged to close the covers -as the books pass to a delivery.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 and the guides of which comprise spaced guide plates which are formed to cant the filling of a book passing between them-first in one senseand then in the other as the book passes for operation by the devices to open the covers.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 and including a device disposed 'so as to operate on books as they pass beyond the magazine as to open the filling at about its centre.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 and having at the magazine a guide strip extending over the magazine andform ing a support 'for the spine of the book passing to-the magazine.

-6. Apparatus as-c'la-imed in claim 5 and having a deliveryopening to which the wrapped book is advanced, the said opening being such as to close the book as it passes through it.

h 7. In an apparatus "for applying jackets to bound books having stiff covers, a support, guide plates arranged to hold the books on edge with their backs on the support, an opening in the support and below the guide plates, a magazine holding jackets immediately below the opening, fingers associated with the guide plates to open the covers of books as they are moved along the support, a delivery device including a book'closer, and propelling mechanism comprising continuously driven endless chains carrying feed bars and having members adapted to engage each book and propel it between the guide plates and past the fingers to open the covers, thence over the magazine to engage and take a jacket therefrom, and thence to the 'delivery device, to close the book.

JOHN ALBERT EDWARD BURLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 'Number Name Date 1,708,813 Ware Apr. 9,1929 2,145,098 Sharp Jan. 24, 1939 

